Cromartie High School (2003–2004)
10/10
This show is brilliant.
19 June 2018
This show is so goddamn funny and clever that it saddens me that more people haven't seen it. I would highly recommend watching it because its really good. The only reason why you shouldn't watch it is if you are somehow not a fan of comedy.

Visuals - This show has what would technically be considered bad animation. Instead of actually walking across the screen or face each other when talking, characters slide and bounce across the screen and character models are enlarged to show who is talking. Though this may seem somewhat lazy in something else, here it just adds to the comedy. Think about it, if the producers of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" could have afforded a real horse for the movie, imagine how many brilliant jokes would've been lost. The bizarre backgrounds and jerky movements just add to the show's hilarity. Ignoring the "poor" animation, the character designs and sets themselves are all actually pretty good. Everyone from the human characters to the gorilla to the robot has an interesting and unique character designs. Like I said, the places where the people are bouncing across the screen in hilarious mockeries of walk-and-talks are well-drawn.

Sounds - I don't speak Japanese, but the voice acting on this show is pretty good. All the voice actors have distinct and funny voices that appropriately fit their characters. The soundtrack is also very good. Probably the best thing in the audio department regarding this show is the sound effects. When things are moving in an unnatural way (like one dude's sentient hair) there are sound effects to accompany each movement. Whenever there is a mother vehicle or explosion, the sound used is somebody verbally imitating an explosion or engine. Most of those scenes are played to be extra melodramatic, making it all the more funny when you hear some voice actor going "vroom vroom" in sync with the motorcycle revving.

Plot - This show doesn't have much in the way of an ongoing plot. Most episodes will feature self-contained events. A lot of these events will be something very mundane and relatable like trying to figure out the name of a song stuck in your head or being stuck in a cab with a driver who has no clue what he's doing, and hilarity always ensues.

Characters - Despite not having much of a plot, most of the characters are developed at some point. They all have mostly consistent personalities that subtly change over time. There's even a whole episode devoted to telling the life of the gorilla.

Humor - Ignoring what I've already said about what makes this show funny, there is a lot of other stuff it does. The writers who wrote this are pretty much experts on comedy. Jokes never outstay their welcome, and scenes only last as long as they need to. Once they are out of material for a setting, the story quickly changes to a new location with new characters. Running jokes are only brought up when there is something to be done with the material. The overall structure of this show is a bit bizarre as the writers are more focused on making you laugh than telling a story, and it really works.
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